THE WORD
Is 42,1-4.6-7 / Ac 10,34-38 / Mt 3: 13-17
When Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
IN OTHER WORDS
One of the things I hated doing as a young seminarian was washing my clothes but I had to do it because it was part of the training. Without much notion about this chore, once I soaked all my dirty clothes together without separating the colored from the white ones. After some hours I found out that a red colored shirt stained the rest especially the white ones. It took only one shirt to affect the others.
Jesus' baptism is understood as a dimension of his incarnation; it is considered as his immersion or his being "soaked" into humanity's condition as sinner though He was sinless. By going down to the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus joined the rank of sinners and assumed that "ugly" dimension of his incarnation - humanity's sin. Through this action, Jesus showed his solidarity with his brothers and sisters burdened by their sinfulness.
Furthermore, the Church Fathers loved to say that Jesus needed to plunge into the waters in the Jordan so that by His being "soaked" in it, He might consecrate it and this might cleanse His brothers and sisters' sinfulness.
Just as Jesus needed to be "soaked" into humanity's condition in order to become truly a credible savior in touch with humanity's core and predicament, so does humanity need to be "soaked" also into the Spirit of God to become truly Christ-like children of God.
- Fr. Ronnie R. Crisostomo, SVD (Dasmarifias City, Cavite)
The Word in other words 2017
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
